Camp Hope
by AinoMinako-san
Summary: Minako's collapsed for the uptenth time, going to the brink of death this time. Rei is tired of it and decides to try and knock some sense into her by... sending her to an American Camp for disabled kids and teens! PGSM based!
1. Prologue

Camp Hope

By AinoMinako-san

AN: So, this a new idea I've been working on. It takes place in PGSM between Rei discovering Minako's weakness and Makoto and the others figuring it out. If I can pinpoint just when, I'll let you know! Basically, I came up with this idea last year when I went to an awesome camp for medically disabled kids named Camp Joy. I wondered what it would be like if Minako was sent to a camp like the one I went to, and maybe it helped her out a bit. This will have chapters, so yay on that! (This is the prologue.) Please Read and Review!!

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon. If I did, they would have continued PGSM

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Venus walked away, her head held high despite the fact that her whole body ached and her vision was blurring. She knew she shouldn't have fought in the battle, but if she hadn't help, she would have felt useless. _'Some leader I am,'_ she thought bitterly, _'Hooked up to IV drips more and more often, watching my life trickle away when I would rather be the leader I'm supposed to be.'_

The usual happy outburst from the other girls abruptly ended when they realized Venus was once again leaving without a word. She could feel their disappointment as they watched her departure. She understood; they wanted to be friends, but she wanted to cause them as little pain from her death as she possibly could. She also didn't want them to see her as weak. She couldn't bear the thought of their sympathy, and she knew they wouldn't want her working so hard with them if she was so sick.

She rounded a corner and disappeared from the sight of her fellow senshi. Walking down the street toward her apartment, Venus caught sight of herself in one of the windows of a store. Her face was almost as white as a sheet, and her color was continuing to drain. _'This isn't good. If I don't rest, I'm not going to make it to my apartment.'_ Looking around, she spotted an empty alley and started to make her way to it.

Her vision started to worsen the more her head pounded.

_'Just a bit more'_ she thought, steeling herself.

Checking to make sure no one else was about she slipped into the nearest alley and leaned against the wall. She let go then of the will of power keeping the pain at bay, giving into the waves of vertigo crashing against her. Disobeying her inital wish to stay consience, Venus felt her body revolt. Slowly her vision darkened as she slid to the ground. Her transformation dropped but she was neither aware of that nor of Artemis' shouts of worry. Instead she welcomed the thought of rest from the pain as she fell into darkness.


	2. Chapter 1

Rei walked down the street towards the Hikawa Shrine, quietly musing on the strangeness of her Idol friend and leader. She knew why Minako kept her distance, though she didn't agree that it was the right course of action. She saw the pain in her eyes. But whatever she said, she couldn't fix it. Even if Rei tried to breach the subject, Minako immediately put up a wall. Rei sighed, thinking. _'That girl is such a stick.'_

"Rei-san!" A voice called, caring worry and fright with it. Rei whirled and saw a small white cat running to catch up to her.

"Artemis?" Her heart whirled in panic and her face tried to hide the worry, though she was only half successful.

"It's Minako." Artemis said, confirming Rei's fears. "She's fainted and I can't get her to wake up."

"Show me." Rei's voice was calm, but inside she was frightened. Knowing that her raging emotions wouldn't help in this situation, she took a deep breath to clear her head. When she knew she was in control, she started to run, following Artemis to an alley near their most recent battle.

Minako lay crumpled next to the wall. Her eyes were closed and Rei could see bruises developing on her arms where the youma had hit her. Rei knelt next to Minako, checking her vitals.

"Her pulse is erratic and her breathing is shallow." Rei said, finger to Minako's neck.

"We've got to get her home." Artemis quickly replied. "There's medicine in her apartment."

Rei gathered Minako in her arms and stood up. She was shocked at the lightness of Minako's body. Briefly she wondered if Minako had been eating enough lately.

"The apartment isn't far. This way." Artemis took off at a trot, Rei following.

They reached the building, and searching Minako's purse, Rei located the key and let them in.

"Put her on the bed. We've got to get some fluids in her." Rei set Minako down, wondering how they were going to get Minako medicine when she was unresponsive. She soon found out.

"Go into the closet in the hall. In there is a bag marked "emergency". That's the stuff we want," Artemis directed.

Rei walked out of the room and found the closet Artemis had illustrated. Inside she found things you would see in a hospital. Rei picked up the emergency bag and brought it back to the bedroom. Opening it, Rei found pieces to an IV drip.

"Ano, Artemis..." Rei hesitantly looked at the items. "I'm not sure I can do this."

"Don't worry. I'll talk you through it."

Rei looked at the pieces in doubt. The last time she had to deal with something like this was when her mother was hospitalized. She really couldn't imagine trying to stab Minako with a needle, even if it was to save her life.

"Rei! We have to hurry!"

Artemis' tone brought Rei out of her thoughts and to the task at hand. She took a deep breath. then nodded to Artemis. Under his direction, she assembled the IV, working quickly.

"Okay. Now you need to tie the band around her arm to help locate a vein. Then use two fingers to find the vein."

She complied, tying the rubber band tightly to Minako's upper arm. Then she reached down and prodded her forearm. Minako's arm was soft as a baby, though it was so skinny, so locating the vein was easy. Once again she wondered if Minako had been eating enough.

"Now slide the needle into the vein almost like you were threading something into a tube."

Rei took a deep breath and carefully slid the needle in, waiting with baited breath for Minako to flinch, to wake up, to scream... but she didn't move.

"Good. You got it in on your first try." Artemis said with relief.

"How do you know?" Rei was a little shaken.

"Minako is used to pain, but if you hadn't done it right, she would have at least moved. You need to tape the needle to her skin and then hook the medicine up. Hang the bag on the IV pole and insert one end of the tube into the bag and the other end into the needle."

Rei did as directed, only relaxing after everthing was in place. For a moment the only sound in the room was the steady drip of the IV. Then Artemis finally relaxed himself, saying "Good. Her color is already starting to return. Just a bit of medicine and her healing abilities as a senshi start to kick in."

"What should we do know?" Rei wondered. "What about some food for when she wakes up." She trailed off with a slightly worried expression. "Artemis, when was the last time Minako ate?"

Artemis looked down, ashamed at his inability to help his charge. "Lately she doesn't eat much at all. She claims she's not hungry and only picks at her food."

Rei shook her head at Minako's care of her body. "Well, let's change that. Do you have any food here?"

"I think there's some chicken broth in the pantry."

"Let's start with that. Then I have a few phone calls to make." Rei looked back at the sleeping idol one last time, then headed for the kitchen, Artemis on her tail.


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon or anything affiliated with it. I'm just a little college student who is playing with her creativity to make something fun to read and in no way make wealth of any kind.

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Blackness surrounded Minako. She couldn't see or hear, but above all, feel pain. The reprieve was a relief and she would have been happy to stay like this forever. Then she noticed something. The scent of soup drifting to her. That small scent was enough for her stomach to demand sustance. Slowly, she opened her eyes to see that she was in her bedroom, an IV taped to her arm and hot chicken soup on her bedside table.

Artemis jumped from his position on a nearby chair to her bed. "Minako! Yogatta." He carefully stepped into her lap minding the tube attached to her arm. "We were so worried. I'm going to lose all 9 of my lives because of you!" He nuzzled her hands as he spoke.

What had happened before was slowly coming back. As her brain slowly processed what he said, she did a double take. "Wait, we? How did I get here when the last thing I remember was the alley?"

"When you fell, I couldn't get you to wake up, and I can't carry you, so I got help."

"Help?" Minako started to question, but her answer walked through the door.

"Good. You're awake." Rei greeted Minako with her usual brusque manner. Only her eyes betrayed her relief. "I was worried you wouldn't wake up in time for your flight."

Minako gaped at her. "My…? But I…" She sputtered, but Rei silenced her by sticking a spoon into her mouth. She choked briefly, then swallowed. "What was that for? Are you trying to kill me?"

"No." Rei had a sly grin. "Just making sure you eat something."

Rei turned to Artemis. "Would you watch her? I've got a few loose ends to tie up for Aino-san's next week. I'll be back, and make sure she eats it all!" With that Rei left.

Minako looked from the door, to the soup, to Artemis, and then back to the door, too confused for words.

"Minako, the soup is getting cold." Artemis said, rubbing his head against her hand in a comforting way.

She slowly maneuvered the full spoon into her mouth. It was the cheap soup from a can, but to Minako who hadn't eaten all day, it was wonderful. Very quickly the bowl was empty and Minako was tempted to lick it dry, she was still so hungry. At that moment Rei came back bearing another steaming bowl. She handed it to Minako who greedily dug in, too intent on getting nutrients into her body to notice the whispered conversation between Artemis and Rei.

When she looked up from the second empty bowl, Rei and Artemis were watching her.

"Nani?" Minako asked, feeling like she had missed something.

Artemis and Rei exchanged glances. Minako disliked the way they were acting, almost like she was a naughty child they were getting ready to discipline. Artemis was her advisor, but he couldn't do much to her, but Rei on the other hand… Who knew what she was planning.

Rei reached into her pocket and pulled out something as she walked to Minako's bed. "It's been decided that you need a break." She stated, handing Minako the thing in her hand. Looking it over Minako saw it was a plane ticket.

"Nani?" Minako looked at the sheet of paper in disbelief. "I can't take a vacation! I'm a pop star. I've got commitments, not to mention fighting the Dark Kingdom. And why in the world would I want to take a break in... Cincinnati Ohio?" She said, reading the destination. "Usually you go to a beach for a break, not the middle of a U.S. city!" She folded her arms, then added under her breath, "Or if it has to be a city, let it be New York. Then I could see Broadway."

Rei gave a mischievous smile. "Oh, don't worry." She replied in a maddening superior tone. "This isn't that kind of vacation. You'll be training." Pulling out a leaflet this time she dropped it into Minako's lap.

Minako picked it up and examined the brochure. On the front were the words CAMP HOPE in big letters and underneath a picture of about forty kids ranging from 8 to 16 and ten counselors. Inside the leaflet were more pictures of campers doing different activities accompanied by descriptions of the camp amenities.

Minako looked at Rei, then Artemis in disbelief. "You're kidding, right? Summer camp? I've got more important things to do than go to summer camp."

"I've already talked to your manager." Rei interrupted. "He agrees you need a break. I'll be taking care of your idol commitments, and I think we can hold the generals off for a week without you."

"No." Minako said flatly. "I refuse to do this."

Rei sighed. "I knew you were going to disagree." She moved closer to the bed, lowering her voice. "If you don't go, I'll tell the others about your illness, the whole world if that will get it through your head."

"You wouldn't!"

Rei merely looked at Minako, letting her words sink in. Minako turned her head away to stare at the wall, feeling anger fill her body.

Sitting down on the bed Rei touched her hand. Minako started to pull away but Rei held on. "Listen Minako. You must listen. You're killing yourself. You're not eating or getting enough sleep, you're out fighting youma. Even Usagi is starting to suspect. Going away will help you get better. They'll take care of you, feed you, and let you sleep. There won't be youma, but it's not like you won't be working. It's training as well. And you know as well as I that it isn't helpful if you start fainting during a battle." Minako didn't respond, too hurt for through she wouldn't admit it; Rei's words had hit their mark. "Please Minako." Rei's voice caught slightly, the only betrayal of her feelings. "If not for yourself, then do it for the team."

Minako turned back to Rei. There was no point in arguing with her. So with a long suffering sigh, Minako said the dreaded word. "Fine." Rei's face lit up in victory, but Minako got in the last words. "But for the team. And I swear, if anything happens while I'm gone, so help me…"

"Everything will be fine." Rei reassured the idol, giving her hand a squeeze. "We handled things just fine before Venus came along, we can do it again. But…" She leaned in and whispered so softly Minako could barely catch the words, "Don't stay too long." Minako was surprised at the tenderness, but before she could say anything Rei was gone with Artemis close behind.

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AN: Sooooo, what do you think? Did you like it? Hate it? I have a question for you that you can leave in the review box. Minako's going to the US, and I am trying to decide if she should go the way she is, or use the cell phone to change her appearence, and if she does change her appearence, would she be a normal Asian, or would she go trying to look like a European? What are your thoughts? Leave a review and tell me!!!


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